Soapbox Topics


  • Wing Meetings Learning Labs and Staff Meetings All members are welcome and encouraged to participate in our Learning Labs and Wednesday/Saturday meetings! The more we coordinate, the better! If you cannot ...
    Posted Jan 30, 2019, 8:18 AM by Jessica Jerwa
  • Tools for Web-Enabled Meetings/Training Here's a question I'm asked on a regular basis:"Can I use the Wing UberConference line to host a meeting?"I always answer this question with the same ...
    Posted Jan 29, 2019, 6:16 PM by Jessica Jerwa
  • The Continuous Improvement Concept Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC) DMAIC (an acronym for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) (pronounced də-MAY-ick) refers to a data-driven improvement cycle used for improving ...
    Posted Jan 29, 2019, 6:16 PM by Jessica Jerwa
  • Crafting an Effective Working Group What is a Working Group? A working group is a defined set of people, usually coming from multiple teams or disciplines, with a clear problem to overcome. Some have very ...
    Posted Jan 29, 2019, 6:15 PM by Jessica Jerwa
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Wing Meetings

posted Jan 29, 2019, 7:20 PM by Jessica Jerwa   [ updated Jan 30, 2019, 8:18 AM ]

Learning Labs and Staff Meetings

CalendarAll members are welcome and encouraged to participate in our Learning Labs and Wednesday/Saturday meetings! The more we coordinate, the better!


If you cannot join us in person, log on via the web for the most interactive and educational experience!

Commanders: Consider asking a unit member to attend in your place if you are not available!  


Wednesdays (weekly)

Many volunteers arrive by late afternoon.
Most volunteers take a dinner break at 1700.
1815-1830 - Learning Lab - Webinar & Call-In

We regularly host a 15-minute web-enabled training (or "Learning Lab") for all members at 1815 hrs, in advance of the regular 1830 call. - Submit your request for a topic here. See links to past sessions here.
1830-1930 - Wing Staff Meeting - Webinar & Call-In
Call-in/webinar/meeting for Wing Staff, Group Commanders, and Squadron Commanders at 1830 hours.

Saturdays (bi-monthly) - 2019

16 February  17 August
20 April  19 October
15 June    7 December

0900  -  Building open

1000-1200 - Wing Staff Meeting - Webinar & Call-In

1200  -  Lunch

1300  -  Other business as needed

1500  -  Building closes

Meeting slides are linked in the calendar entry for each Saturday meeting within 2-4 weeks of the scheduled meeting. All members with a @wawg.cap.gov account have access to view these. Wing Staff and Commanders have edit access.

*Meeting Etiquette

  • Please identify yourself in UberConference so we know who is calling in. We take roll call, so this helps us proceed through the boring stuff more quickly!

  • Even if you use your phone to call in (instead of your PC), we suggest viewing the presentation online. We often screen share during the Learning Lab and Meeting.
  • Please mute your line until you are ready to speak. We often record our calls. Shuffling papers are not an awesome soundtrack...and to be honest, every time you make noise, your meeting icon changes in UberConference and tells on you. We can mute you from our side if we have to, but then you might not know to unmute yourself later. :P

  • Please avoid using speakerphone. It can cause your audio to feed back and makes it sound like aliens are landing.

  • Questions during the Learning Lab? Please submit them during the chat at any time or try to save your questions for the end. LL's are usually 5-10 minutes of presentation and 5-10 minutes of questions/discussion. We always take questions.

  • Questions during the Staff Meeting? Please wait for the presenter to finish their briefing and then ask to be called on. For example, if you have a question for the Logistics Officer, wait for him to give his briefing and then say, "This is So-and-So from Podunk Composite Squadron...I have a question for our Logistics Officer." The meeting host will recognize you, etc.

Tools for Web-Enabled Meetings/Training

posted Dec 6, 2018, 11:44 AM by Jessica Jerwa   [ updated Jan 29, 2019, 6:16 PM ]

Here's a question I'm asked on a regular basis:

"Can I use the Wing UberConference line to host a meeting?"

I always answer this question with the same abbreviated reply, before launching into a series of questions:

"Yes, but..."
  • How many participants will there be?

    • If there are fewer than 10 participants:

    • If there are fewer than 15 participants:

    • If there are 100 or fewer participants: 

    • If you anticipate needing to "broadcast" to more than 100 participants, please email me so we can discuss creating a YouTube LiveStream of your event. I would be happy to facilitate this type of thing.
  • Will you be hosting this on a regular basis?

    • If yes, and you will have fewer than 10 callers, I recommend creating an UberConference account using your Wing @wawg email address so you can create recurring meetings. 

Your mileage with UberConference (Free or Premium Account) vs Google Hangouts may vary, so I've included a link to a fairly comprehensive comparison of the technologies to help you determine what will work best for your needs. 

Please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have about hosting web-enabled meetings!

The Continuous Improvement Concept

posted Sep 2, 2018, 5:04 PM by Jessica Jerwa   [ updated Jan 29, 2019, 6:16 PM ]

Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC)

DMAIC (an acronym for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) (pronounced də-MAY-ick) refers to a data-driven improvement cycle used for improving, optimizing and stabilizing business processes and designs. The DMAIC improvement cycle is the core tool used to drive Six Sigma projects. However, DMAIC is not exclusive to Six Sigma and can be used as the framework for other improvement applications.

Six Sigma (6σ) is a set of techniques and tools for process improvement. It was introduced by engineer Bill Smith while working at Motorola in 1986. Jack Welch made it central to his business strategy at General Electric in 1995.

Six Sigma strategies seek to improve the quality of the output of a process by identifying and removing the causes of defects and minimizing variability in manufacturing and business processes. It uses a set of quality management methods, mainly empirical, statistical methods, and creates a special infrastructure of people within the organization who are experts in these methods. Each Six Sigma project carried out within an organization follows a defined sequence of steps and has specific value targets, for example: reduce process cycle time, reduce pollution, reduce costs, increase customer satisfaction, and increase profits.

Please read this Wikipedia article on DMAIC for a deeper look at the DMAIC improvement cycle (continuous improvement)!

Crafting an Effective Working Group

posted Sep 2, 2018, 4:46 PM by Jessica Jerwa   [ updated Jan 29, 2019, 6:15 PM ]

What is a Working Group?

A working group is a defined set of people, usually coming from multiple teams or disciplines, with a clear problem to overcome. Some have very specific goals and disband after a few months, others have existed over multiple years and evolved over time.

The basic steps of a Working Group are:

1. Establish a Goal.
2. Designate a Facilitator.
3. Define Operations.
4. Set Milestones.
5. Operate Transparently.
6. Evaluate Your Process.

Check out this article to review the basics of how to craft an effective working group.

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